Twitching motility at an agar-glass interface

This short video shows Pseudomonasaeruginosa cells moving along an agar-glass interface using twitching motility. Twitching motility is important for virulence because it allows the bacteria to move away from the initial point of colonization. The green spots correspond to YFP-labelled PilU, a motor ATPase located at the leading pole of the cell. Thanks go to Dr. Tony Collins of the McMaster Biophotonics Facility for his assistance with movie production! If you liked this movie, there are more here!